AR-News: (ID - US) Prosecutor won't file charges in cat killing

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Prosecutor won't file charges in cat killing: Circumstances found not to be malicious 

By Casey Santee - Journal Writer
  
  
POCATELLO - Bannock County Prosecutor Mark Hiedeman said Wednesday no criminal charges will be filed against Marsh Valley High School teacher Gordon Gillman or his students who killed a cat in a classroom Jan. 16.

The Bannock County Sheriff's Department finished its investigation into the incident Monday and handed the case over to prosecutors. 
  

"Animal cruelty is a serious crime and it is our policy to diligently prosecute animal cruelty cases when the facts of the case support the charge ... The facts of this case do not support charging the involved individuals with animal cruelty," Hiedeman's office stated in a press release.

Witnesses were interviewed and the circumstances surrounding the cat's demise were found not to be malicious, Heideman's office concluded. 

According to the Bannock County Sheriff's report, the cat was a nuisance in the Vo/Ag class for a few weeks before being cornered by four male students the day of the incident.

It then ran toward one of the boys and latched onto his right leg with its claws. He shook his leg until it fell off and ran toward the other two boys, one of whom hit it in the head with a broomstick. The cat fell onto its side unconscious and went into convulsions. 

According to the report, one of the boys then placed his foot on the cat's neck and told Gillman, who saw it twitching on the floor.

According to Gillman's statement, his advice to students at that point was "put it out of its misery." 

The boy then pushed down harder and twisted his foot, killing the cat.

The report also states Gillman's statement to police was consistent with those of the students.  
 

"(Gillman) did not at any time ... direct any of the kids to chase the cat or kill the cat," the report reads.

Much of the controversy surrounding the incident arose from comments made by Marsh Valley resident Debbie Hawthorne. She said one of the boys involved told her Gillman instructed them to "kill the cat and use brooms or stomp it to death." 

Casey Santee covers courts, law enforcement and health care for the Idaho State Journal. He can be reached at (208) 239-3132, or by e-mail at csantee at journalnet.com.